writer and journalist

About

Josh is a freelance journalist based in Istanbul. He is Turkey/Caucasus editor at EurasiaNet and his articles also have appeared in Slate, The New York Times,, The Wilson Quarterly, The Atlantic, Al Jazeera America, Roads & Kingdoms, and Jane's Defence Weekly. He blogs on Eurasian defense and security at The Bug Pit. Follow him on Twitter at @joshuakucera, and on Instagram. See more here.

November 24, 2013

U.S. Checked in Central Asia -- New York Times

I recently had a piece in the international edition of the New York Times on the departure of the U.S. air base from Kyrgyzstan in the context of U.S. policy in Central Asia:

The Pentagon quietly announced last month that the U.S. military is leaving the air base it has operated in Kyrgyzstan as a staging area for American troops and matériel since 2001. While the move will complicate American efforts to wind down the war in Afghanistan, the decision has much broader ramifications: It marks the end of a brief experiment to extend American power and influence into the distant strategic arena of Central Asia.